A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit, usually mounted to the outside of a building or occasionally inside but separate from the main areas of the building. It provides a method of escape in the event of a fire or other emergency that makes the stairwells inside a building inaccessible. Fire escapes are most often found on multiple-story residential buildings, such as apartment buildings. They are commonly a very important aspect of fire safety for construction in urban areas.
Traditional fire escapes consist of a number of horizontal platforms, one at each story of a building, with ladders or stairs connecting the platforms. Railings are usually provided on each of the levels, but as fire escapes are designed for emergency use only, these railings often do not meet the same standards as railings in other contexts. The ladder from the lowest level of the fire escape may be fixed, but commonly swings down on a hinge or slides along a track.
Traditional fire escapes are limited to being a form of egress that adds a substantial load on any building façade, creating points of deterioration and entry of water along the fire escape due to the union of steel and masonry. Additionally, the user of a traditional fire escape requires being physically capable of walking or climbing down the fire escape. Due to this limitation, persons who are not able-bodied enough to use a traditional fire escape in an emergency situation are at a higher risk of suffering injury or death in an emergency situation. Therefore, extended care and emergency facilities must perform special operations to rescue those who are unable to facilitate their own evacuation, increasing risk for both those who are in need of rescue as well as emergency personnel performing the rescue.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mechanical system that does not require the use of one's lower body to evacuate a building, and does not impose a substantial load on a building façade. The present invention provides an evacuation method by sliding down several belts that do not require the use of one's lower body. If a rescuer is performing a rescue utilizing the present invention, the rescuer does not require the levels of strength needed to carry the victim in order to perform the rescue, conserving energy and facilitating an effective rescue.